TIME Magazine’s Breastfeeding Cover Mom Says She’ll Take Her Toddler Off Her Tata Sometime This Year…

The young mom who sparked a media storm breastfeeding her 3-year-old son on the cover of Time magazine is opening up about the controversial photo.

Jamie Lynne Grumet, 26, appeared on NBC’s “Today” show on Friday to discuss the cover, which shows her casually nursing her toddler Aram, who stares straight into the camera while he stands on a wooden chair.

“I do understand why Time chose this picture, because it did create such a media craze … to get the dialogue talking,” Grumet said.

Grumet explains that she was breastfed until she was 6-years-old and cites it as the reason she and her mother have a close bond.

Dr. Bill Sears, who developed the attachment parenting theory, also appeared on “Today” with Grumet. While both are advocates of the controversial parenting technique – which also includes co-sleeping, or letting children sleep in their parent’s beds – Grumet admits it’s not for everyone.

“You need to do what’s best for your own baby and your family,” she says.

And not all of the criticism is coming from people against attachment parenting, Grumet notes.

“I understand some of the breast-feeding advocates are actually upset about this,” she said on “Today.”

Mommyish.com blogger Shawna Cohen, who says she practices some attachment parenting principles, wrote that she was disappointed in the Time cover.

“It angers me because it portrays AP moms as being totally extreme,” she wrote in a blog post. “And in most cases, that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

Even celebrities chimed in – including new mom Alyssa Milano.

“Time, no! You missed the mark!” the actress wrote on Twitter. “You’re supposed to be making it easier for breastfeeding moms. Your cover is exploitative and extreme.”

Grumet explains that the cover didn’t adequately demonstrate the nurturing side of attachment parenting.

“This isn’t how we breastfeed at home,” she says. “It’s more of a cradling, nurturing situation.”

Grumet, who has one other 5-year-old son, says she hopes to stop breastfeeding Aram, who turns 4 next month, sometime in the next year.

Clearly TIME knew what they were doing with the controversial cover. And can you really blame them when subscriptions are probably in the dumps (believe us, they’ve been stalking us for a renewal). But we are happy to hear that three-year-old Aram isn’t really standing on a stool while he gnaws on his Mommy’s milk carriers.

Since news of this cover came out, has it encouraged anyone to look more deeply into attachment parenting? Where do you weigh in on this issue?